Tag: flu

‘Tis the season! The flu season that is! And it’s time to roll up those sleeves…

Now, what do you and your family need to know about the flu? Here’s what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is our leading agency that conducts and supports health promotion, prevention, and preparedness activities in the United States, has to say!

“Fun” Flu Facts:

The flu is contagious! It is spread when someone who is infected has droplets from their nose or mouth that then gets into your nose or mouth. (Think sneezing, coughing, hand-to-hand touching and then touching your face)

You may be able to pass on the flu to someone before you know you are sick or while you are sick. Some seemingly healthy people may be able to infect others beginning one day before symptoms develop and up to 5 to 7 days after becoming sick.

Depending on the health state of the individual, the flu can cause mild to severe illness and can even lead to death.

Each year, more than 200,000 people in the United States are hospitalized for respiratory and heart conditions illnesses associated with the flu virus.

Each year, between 12,000 and 56,000 people die from flu-related complications. These are typically patients who are already sick with a chronic condition such as heart failure or pulmonary disease.

Now let’s address all the silly myths and excuses that people make for not getting the flu shot!

Debunking “Fun” Flu Myths:

No, you cannot get the flu from the flu shot! The vaccine you receive is inactivated so the typical symptom you may get is soreness in the arm. And let’s be honest, any symptoms people have from the flu vaccine are much better to deal with than the symptoms caused by the actual flu illness.

If you do get flu-like symptoms, it wasn’t because of the vaccine! You may have already been sick when you got the flu shot. Also, you may be sick with another bacteria or virus that is not the flu or is not the strain from the vaccine.

The flu vaccine is safe and effective! For more than 50 years, hundreds of millions of Americans have safely received seasonal flu vaccines.

So now it’s time– I’ve gotten my flu shot. Have you gotten yours?!?

Let me know if this article was helpful and please write any additional comments or questions below!